


Shakedown

by defenest



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: AU, Altean Lance (Voltron), Altean Shiro (Voltron), Balmeran Hunk (Voltron), Galra Keith (Voltron), Galra Lance (Voltron), Galra Pidge | Katie Holt, Gen, How could I forget that!!, It's a Huge AU, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Though it's not really a big thing, Trans Female Character, Trans Male Character, Zarkon Attacks For Different Reasons, also feelings of depression, also!, altean magic/space understanding, can't forget that, does Voltron exist in this reality?, he's percieved that way throughout, her name's just pidge in this, it's just there, just in case anyone doesn't like that, lots of the gay, she's less critical of lance in this, talk of scars, teen for now because of violence to come, that whole altean chameleon thing, there's some space magic here, uhhhh no, you'll see who
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-11
Updated: 2018-08-19
Packaged: 2019-06-25 17:19:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,613
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15645372
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/defenest/pseuds/defenest
Summary: Lance has been on his own for deca-phoebs, only turning to the Blade of Marmora when he ran out of his own intelligence... As one of the last Alteans, he works to fight against Zarkon, the man who obliterated his people. Undercover, that is, as the very race that brought his own destruction.Meanwhile, Keith's been captured, a man from the past has been discovered alive, and both are in danger of becoming the Empire's next pawns. That is, unless Lance can save them in time.Ought to be a hell of a ride, eh?





	1. Walk the Line

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fic for the Voltron fandom, and my second published fic! It came to me in the middle of the night weeks ago, and I really liked the idea, so here it is! It's a wildly different reality than the canon's, but all the same... it's still Voltron. I hope you guys enjoy!

The way he was feeling-- it was so strange, this feeling-- it was breaking him. He was not used to feeling so… helpless. He’d been able to help himself since he was small, and even then, he knew how to block it all out. Pain and fear were driven away and replaced by something cold and hollow within his gut. It wasn’t a way he wanted to live, per se, but it helped him survive… It helped Lance survive.

Unfortunately, in this brief instance of utter fear, Lance was trapped. Four galra soldiers had him cornered, their blasters trained on him. His mind raced, trying to figure out a way out of this, even if he was unarmed and completely vulnerable… Lance grit his teeth and rushed the soldiers when they appeared to let their guard down, knocking out the one closest to him with a swift kick to the head. Grabbing the downed soldier’s weapon, Lance fired at the trio remaining and made a getaway seemingly into nothingness. 

Darkness enveloped Lance’s vision, but his eyes adjusted quickly due to his rather frequent trips into this… night. He took a tick to breathe, heartbeat calming. That was too close.

When he came out on the other side of the portal, he was met with the drab layout of his safehouse. Everything was dark here on Daibazaal… Not that Lance was complaining. He didn’t have the right to complain, not since he was ejected from the last Altean ship known to be taken by the Galra. He escaped, all those deca-phoebs ago… The last of his people died for him to escape undetected by Emperor Zarkon’s forces. Now he lived a life on the run, hiding in plain sight, just waiting for the day when the Galra stumble upon him on their own crumbling planet. 

Lance stripped his dirty rags and stepped into the bathroom, washing up quick. He paused in front of the old mirror he had propped up on the sink, examining his body. He guessed he was nearing adulthood, the way his markings were darkening beneath his eyes. He let himself look at the rest of him for a moment, feeling the same prickle of fear rise in his throat. His scars weren’t healing the greatest, but compared to other scars he’d seen long ago… Well, he’d say he was doing alright compared to others. The others were dead, after all. 

He bowed his head, feeling the weight of his loss sink onto his shoulders. All of that fear he’d been holding back, all of that pain, all of that rage built up within him, and he squeezed his eyes shut. Lance shook his head as if to physically shake away the memories. He had to steel himself, or he wouldn’t get through his next mission with all of him intact. 

He wasn’t even sure if he was still completely intact, anyway...

\--

Lance was the last of the Alteans-- or, at least, the last he himself knew of. There may very well be other Alteans out there, hiding within the natural folds of space Lance too made use of, but he couldn’t put hope in such an unlikely probability. That’s what one of his friends-- informants-- told him. He needed to focus on his own survival, not on the mere chance of the existence of just one of his people… He had to make sure his safe house didn’t run out of rent before he got back from another of his missions. It was kind of funny, the way that such a simple struggle could make or break Lance’s entire operation.

After Lance changed into fresh clothes, he stretched in preparation for his transformation. There was no way he could ever complete his missions looking the way he did before making himself seem like a proper galra, let alone survive stepping out the door. He lived in an apartment complex in the capital city, right in the middle of a very Galran neighborhood. Lance slipped in front of the mirror once again and applied the sleek, invisible tech to his cheeks that hid his markings and set about making sure his disguise was solid. 

Something inside him urged him to grin wickedly into the mirror, quirking an eyebrow in a mock alluring expression. A few doboshes passed before Lance felt the feeling inside him shatter. It wasn’t right to feel that way… He wouldn’t let himself indulge. He was on a mission, he couldn’t afford to feel anything but--

There was a knock on his door, which was quickly followed by the grumbling of his youngest helper for him to ‘open the quiznacking door already.’

Lance straightened his back and nodded to his reflection, feeling confident it would hold for a few quintants without him needing to take a break. He got the door, sidestepping quickly to get out of the short galran girl’s path. 

“Do you know how long I’ve been waiting for your return?” she growled up at him, crossing her arms over her chest.

“I dunno, a few vargas?” Lance shrugged, closing the door.

The girl balked at him and rolled her eyes, raising her arms into the air.

“A few vargas, he says! It’s been a whole phoeb, you idiot! Do you get what we’re trying to do here, or did you forget?” she snarled, nose crinkling under her overly large glasses.

“Aw, Pidge, you know what I was doing--”

“Yeah, something that could have waited until after we saved the universe from the hold of Zarkon!!”

Lance frowned at Pidge. He’d known her for around four deca-pheobs, through Lance’s hardest years of growing up… but she was even younger than him, always acting like she had a few more deca-phoebs under her belt than she really did. 

“Well, it’s done, so I won’t be so distracted anymore. Alright?” he said pointedly, raising his eyebrows at her.

“Oh, whatever Lance, just-- You might have worried me a little, being so late,” Pidge admitted after a few ticks of silence.

Lance held back a smile and nodded.

“Now then, can we get to work?”

Lance nodded and sat down at his small kitchen table while Pidge spread out her datapads in order to begin a briefing. 

“There are seven factions of the Blade of Marmora, each in heavily-occupied sectors of the Empire-- you know this. However, there’s been… some disruptions. One of the smallest factions took a huge risk and put themselves in danger of being rooted out a couple of movements ago,” she began, pulling up the info on that sector for Lance to look over while she spoke. 

“Yeah? What happened?” Lance asked, looking over the list of their operatives in said sector.

“They broke into a prison that housed an extremely important war hero who went missing about fifteen deca-phoebs ago-- an Altean named Shiro.”

“Wait-- what? Why didn’’t you notify me?! I could have helped--”

“Lance,” Pidge interrupted, cutting him short, “You weren’t here to take the mission-- besides, I’m sort of glad you weren’t. We sent one of the best operatives in our sector to help them out, and they haven’t come back. As I said, it was movements ago, and now it’s almost been a whole phoeb since we’ve heard anything from the operative or the faction.”

“Quiznack, that’s not good-- were they captured?” 

Pidge nodded gravely.

“I received a message from one of our informants on a Balmera nearby. He said he’s seen a cruiser that’s disguised as a cargo ship dock at their port, and he’s volunteered to help us when we go in for extraction.”

“Wait a second-- who did we send in to help?” Lance asked, still a little sidetracked by the immensity of the Blade’s discovery.

“His name is Keith. He’s one of our best members--”

“Pidge, oh my gods, him? You sent him? Keith, former heir to the Empire, and now he’s captured? Not to mention-- augh it’s gonna be so awkward, rescuing him…” Lance grumbled.

“What? Why?” Pidge huffed, adjusting her glasses.

“He’s my rival,” Lance said darkly, crossing his arms.

Pidge paused, mouth quirking like she was holding back a laugh.

“Your rival? Please, you’ve only talked to him, what, three times?” she said, giggling a little.

“Wh-- No! We trained together, and--”

“When I talked to him, he didn’t seem like he saw you as a rival. He told me he hoped you got back soon, for the Blade’s sake. That doesn’t sound hostile, Lance,” she snarked. 

Lance just shook his head and fidgeted in his seat.

“Just-- just go on, Pidge. What do we need to do?”

Pidge gave a quick nod and pulled up a diagram of the Balmera’s docks. 

“You’ll capture a few guards, take their clothes, and board the ship with the cargo like they should have. Once you’re in, I’ll guide you through to the brig. From there, you’ll break out the prisoners and escape en masse; the idea here is to cause so much confusion that you and the prisoners can escape without many casualties. It’s honestly your best bet,” Pidge explained. 

“Alright. Who’s going with me?”

“Right now, it’s just Thace. He’s new, but he’s strong. I’m sure others will join, but we’re just us three right now.”

Lance nodded and dropped his arms to his sides. 

“When are we meeting with Kolivan and the others?”

“Mm, about four vargas. The ship could leave any minute, and I’m actually pushing them to have us meet earlier. Sorry that doesn’t leave you much time, but we can’t lose Keith--”

“Nah, Pidge, I get it. He’s an asset to our faction. We’ll get him,” Lance said, cooly confident. 

Pidge smirked slightly at Lance and nodded.

“Right. And hey-- your disguise looks way better than last time! I think it has to do with that fancy tech hiding your markings…” she lilted.

“Yeah, yeah, thank you. Wouldn’t do too great on this mission without your tech,” Lance sighed, sending a soft smile Pidge’s way. 

She just adjusted her glasses and shot him a thumbs-up.

“See you in a few,” she called as she walked out the door.

As it closed behind her, Lance leaned forward and picked up one of the stray datapads. Another altean was out there… He would save Keith if it meant he would meet at least one person from his past people. The pictures of the galra Blade flickered on the datapad, and Lance leaned back. Of course he would have to save that guy to get to what he’d craved for so long… to meet another of his kind.


	2. Drive

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title from "Drive" by Halsey.
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

_ He never could hit him. Each time Lance tried, Keith blocked him. It was  _ infuriating. _ Nothing Lance did could break through his defence. Not here, anyway. Other places, maybe-- Lance had this odd feeling around him sometimes, like maybe he’d want to get Keith to open up to him… But the harsh kick to his side brought him back to this, their training session. Lance swung for Keith’s side in retaliation, hissing through his sharpened teeth, but all he hit was air.  _

 

_ Before he knew it, Lance was down on the mat, Keith’s legs clamped solidly around his head in a chokehold. A few ticks passed while Lance tried to squirm his way out of Keith’s hold, but he ended up having to tap out of it. Keith released him, still breathing heavily. Lance sat up and huffed, glancing at Keith. _

 

_ “Do you always have to one-up me, man?” he hissed Keith’s way. _

 

_ Keith shot him a look of skepticism and then rolled his eyes. _

 

_ “That’s the last thing  _ I’m  _ trying to do, Lance. Besides, you need to work on your fighting anyway. You fight like you learned on the street against early-model sentries,” the younger man said, sitting up. _

 

_ Lance kept his mouth shut; of course, Keith had hit the nail right on the head... Not that he’d let him know that.   _

 

_ Keith reached off of the mat to grab his canteen, taking a swig before offering some to Lance. Out of utter embarrassment, Lance just grabbed it from his hand. He noticed his rudeness and muttered a quick, “Thanks,” before taking a hasty drink of water. _

 

_... _

 

_ Keith watched him drink, unbeknownst to the older man, and let his heart stutter. His galra disguise was still a little off, but Keith could appreciate his effort. The curl of his hair at the nape of his neck almost certainly outed his disguise, but Keith felt so… drawn to it. As if-- he would touch it of he wasn’t so aggravated by Lance half the time. Honestly, Lance probably thought worse of him, but Keith wouldn’t let it slip that he wasn’t too bothered by the Altean.  _

 

_ Before Keith could truly appreciate the view, Lance was done and handing back Keith’s canteen. Their fingers brushed and Keith flinched minutely, his heartbeat fluttering in his chest for no warranted reason. Lance paid his movements no mind, shy eyes not even looking at the Galran rebel.  _

 

_ “You know, I’m just… trying to help you,” Keith said, turning his eyes away from the altean man. _

 

_ Lance let a scoff slip out of his mouth and he said, “Are you?” _

 

_ Keith rolled his eyes and bumped his shoulder against Lance’s. _

 

_ “ _ Yes,  _ you big idiot,” Keith laughed airily.  _

 

_ Lance shot him a hurt look, and Keith stopped abruptly. _

 

_ “I mean-- I was kidding, Lance, I didn’t mean that  _ seriously _ , honest,” Keith said, mind stumbling over his mistake.  _ How could he have said that--

 

_ Lance’s expression softened and he offered a tiny smile. It fell as he looked away, but he didn’t say anything more about it. _

 

_ “Let’s just keep sparring,” he said, standing.  _

 

_ Keith watched him stand, eyebrows raising when a hand was offered to him. He took it and Lance pulled him to his feet. A smirk found itself on Keith’s face and he nodded. _

 

_ “Alright, if you’re in such a hurry to lose again…” _

  
  


_ \-- _

  
  


Lance was startled out of his thoughts by pounding on his door. 

 

“Just a tick!” he barked, stomping over to the door.

 

When it slid open at his touch, his eyes widened and he backed up slightly.

 

“Uh-- Kolivan! Is it time already? For us to meet, I mean,” Lance asked, clearly ruffled.

 

“Is this a bad time…?” the gruff Galra asked skeptically. 

 

“No-- no! I was just… in my head, sorry. You’re here to discuss Pidge’s plan?” Lance said as he motioned for Kolivan to enter.

 

“Yes. She told me you were willing to take the mission despite any misgivings you have for the captured.”

 

Lance nodded and closed the door behind him.

 

“I’ll let her know you’re here. She shouldn’t be too long,” he said, grabbing his communicator and sending Pidge a quick message.

The silence stretched between the two, and Lance fidgeted constantly. He felt compelled to tell Kolivan that he didn’t  _ hate _ Keith, necessarily, and that he wanted him back among their ranks as much as he did, but somehow, it felt… wrong? It wasn’t the time for him to talk about himself, no. That could come later, after the whole plan had been worked out and they knew what they were doing. Lance hoped Kolivan knew he didn’t want Keith hurt, but the way Kolivan stared at his feet told him his anxiety surrounding this mission was immense. 

 

“I… I know you wanna get him back, but I need to do this. Besides, they need you back here,” Lance spoke up after a tick too long of quiet.

 

Kolivan glanced up at Lance’s face and he sighed.

 

“You read people like an Altean,” the older Galra huffed.

 

Lance blinked and blurted, “ _ Huh? _ ”

 

Kolivan rolled his eyes.

 

“You know, you should work on that. Galra don’t usually analyze people unless they really care about them. Alteans were… open books, always wanting to help others… Your uncle was crazy about helping people,” he explained, waving his hand dismissively.

 

Lance swallowed hard and said, “I didn’t know you  _ knew _ , Kolivan.”

 

Kolivan’s expression slipped into a smirk and he tapped a white claw against his jaw.

 

“Yeah, well, Keith told me. He speculated-- until he saw you that one time-- and as your teacher he felt I should know. That’s why I shifted your training,” he admitted.

 

Lance sort of stared at him, dumbfounded. What was he supposed to say to that? How had  _ Keith _ found out? Lance frowned and turned his gaze to the wall, chewing his lip.  _ Until he saw me…? _ A few ticks passed before realization washed over his expression.

  
  


\--

  
  


_ It was late, and Lance was immensely tired. He’d spent a whole day training with Kolivan, and he was sure he could fall asleep just resting against some wall. He fumbled with the exit doors, feeling heavy and a little disoriented. When he realized he wasn’t going to get the door open, he just turned around and slumped against it, planning on just snoozing there until he could gather the coherence to get back home. _

 

_ His plan was interrupted by the door swinging open and his body pitching backwards into the chill of the outside. Lance heard swearing as he rolled over, moving slow despite the disruption warranting a much more lively response. As he looked up, hands gripped his upper arms and yanked him to his feet. Lance blinked slowly at the person, eyesight bleary with utter exhaustion. _

 

_ “Lance,  _ what _ are you _ doing _?” the voice scolded, pushing him back into the heat of the building. _

 

_ “Nappin’,” Lance mumbled, reaching up to rub away some sleepiness from his eyes. _

 

_ “Augh, Lance, seriously? The doorway isn’t a place to rest,” the person huffed. _

 

_ Lance could make out dark purple skin, feathery dark hair, and a glare that could kill. _

 

_ “Mm. Just wanted to sleep a lil’ before I went home,” he shrugged, blinking away more of his haze. _

 

_ The person-- who Lance was starting to think was Keith-- scoffed and shook their head. _

 

_ “No, no, no, you--You’ve gotta stay here. It’s a long way back, and a quick nap isn’t gonna get you the energy you need. Come on, come with me,” they said, voice turning gentle towards the end. _

 

_ Lance blinked a couple more times and then slurred, “You can’t be Keith, you’re being too nice.” _

 

_ The person who most certainly was Keith just sighed. Now that he wasn’t a zombie, Lance could take all of him in even in a continuous state of mild sleepiness. He looked… different? _

 

_ Keith rolled his eyes and pulled Lance along with him as he started walking. _

 

_ “Whatever you say,” he shrugged. _

 

_ They walked for a few doboshes before Lance fully understood what was going on. _

 

_ “Wait! Keith, I’m really fine you don’t have to--” he blurted, though he was cut off by Keith telling him to be quiet. _

 

_ Lance made a sound of protest and Keith whipped around, pressing his hand over Lance’s mouth. _

 

_ “Lance, it is three in the morning and I need you to be really quiet. Kolivan will kill me if you don’t, so just…  _ please, Lance _ ,” Keith breathed, his yellow-tinted gaze staring into Lance’s copycat eyes. _

_ Lance was frozen. This was… weird. Well-- It felt weird. His heart thudded in his chest, though if he was honest, he could feel it all over his body. He felt hot, too, for some reason. He didn’t want to think about why, because if he did, he would notice that the hand over his mouth was part of the reason his heart quickened, and the other part was the intense eye contact he held with his… friend. Lance’s adam’s apple bobbed and he flicked his gaze over Keith’s face, pausing for a tick or two to watch Keith wet his lips.  _

 

_ Holy shit, he was tired. _

 

_Lance held up a thumbs-up, indicating that he was going to be quiet. Keith let a tiny smile sneak onto his face before he nodded and turned away, setting back on their quest to Keith’s quarters._ _When they got there, Keith shoved Lance inside and directed him to the couch. Lance had ragained his earlier sleepiness, so he just… sat in front of the couch and pulled off his shirt. Keith blinked at him and then huffed, “Really, Lance?”_

 

_ Lance looked up at him and dropped his disguise out of utter carelessness. _

 

_ Keith just… stood there, mouth falling open as if he was… surprised. _

 

_... _

 

_ In the hazy purple light of Keith’s quarters, Lance looked almost ethereal, his Altean form covered in scars less noticeable in purple. A couple of scars wrapped over his arms, others sitting almost neatly along the underside of his pecs. There were a couple of gunshot scars, all puckered from healing a little strangely… Keith felt himself blink slowly at Lance as the older man drifted off leaning against the couch.  _

 

_ He couldn’t let him sleep like that. Not after… this. Keith crouched next to him and dared to trace the curve of Lance’s jawline. This was the real Lance. His altean features struck Keith as… well, beautiful, though he wouldn’t tell Lance that anytime soon. The markings underneath his eyes glinted slightly, and Keith felt the overwhelming urge to kiss them. He didn’t. _

 

_ Keith scooped Lance up into his arms bridal style and laid him down on the couch, laying a cover over his smaller form.  _

  
  


\--

  
  


Lance crossed his arms and grumbled, “That was an accident. He didn’t need to tell you.”

 

Kolivan huffed in amusement, but didn’t counter. 

 

Lance opened his mouth to say more, but Pidge walked in right before any other excuses could tumble from his lips.

 

“Alright, Thace is just behind me. Let’s get planning!” she chirped. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Please let me know what you think with comments and/or kudos!

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed! I'm working on the next chapter as we speak, and hope to have it out in the next few weeks. Please let me know what you think by commenting or leaving kudos! Thank you for reading!


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